The One Who Stole the Sun
by Intemporel.J
Summary: The king of Eloeinia, a kingdom that faces destruction by the hands of the Ikana empire, asks the leader of a small group of vigilantes to journey to Hyrule for the sake of the kingdom. The young leader, whose feats and accomplishments are comparable to those of heroes of legend, must face danger and betrayal before he is molded into the hero he was destined to be. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**The One Who Stole the Sun**

_By Intemporel.J_

_Chapter 1_

In the Golden Age of Hyrule when the High King Daphne's reign was prosperous, the turmoil that was slowly growing between the neighboring kingdoms of Eloeinia and Ikana quietly crept closer towards the land of the Goddesses.

North of Eloeinia's capital on a little creek near the forest, there lived a poor married couple of goat herders and a boy who called them mother and father. In the early days of the war, they had lived in peace for they were people of good character and had offered what little they had to those who needed it more. However, despite their upstandingness, the looming war had inevitably reached their small ranch and the family was no more. That is, except for the small boy no older than three. When Eloeinia's troops made their push northwards against the invading kingdom, by the grace of the goddesses, they had heard the crying of a small child in the rubble of the razed ranch. It was then and there that the Eloeinian general had a vision from the goddesses that he couldn't understand but knew it had been about the child. He then commanded for the boy to be brought back to the capital to be raised in an orphanage.

It had been fifteen years since the day that marked the beginning of the ongoing war between Eloeinia and Ikana. Ikana was no longer a kingdom, but an empire for it had conquered other small kingdoms with their infamous rain of fire. Although the odds were against them, the Eloeinians had been slowly regaining their territory, not by the efforts of their army, but rather by the efforts of a small group of vigilantes. Their accomplishments were so great that the citizens of Eloeinia had compared them to legends of old. Hearing about the legendary undertakings of the small group of fighters, the Eloeinian King was urged to summon their leader.

* * *

The king looked nervous as he twiddled his thumbs. His already sweaty palms were made all the more clammier by the humidity of the summer. He looked over the person who was kneeling before him. He was surprised that the leader of the vigilantes was so young. From the stories of the man's exploits, he was sure that he would be a hulking man who could dominate his enemies on the battlefield, not just some child. The king's thoughts were flooded with doubts of the potential of the young warrior.

"Ahem. Please rise, I do not wish to make you feel uncomfortable in my presence."

The young man looked up. The king examined his battle hardened face and realized that he was speaking to a person who had experienced more pain and suffering than most of his soldiers.

"Might I ask of your name, young warrior?" the king asked in a venerable tone that hid his uncertainties of the young man.

"I'm known as Link, your highness. It is truly an honor to be in your presence." he replied stoically. "Im assuming you had summoned me because of the tales of the feats that my comrades and I had accomplished. I am sorry to say this but, they are a bit exaggerated up to the points where I would just call them rumors." he said, his face showing no emotion.

The king felt a lump in his throat form when he heard those words. Slowly, his fears of the invading Ikana empire began to show on his wrinkled face. "The tales of your band of 20 defeating 500 Ikanian soldiers are untrue? Even the tale of you surviving a duel with the feared Ikanian general, rumored to be the strongest man alive that this world has ever seen?"

"Do not misunderstand me your majesty. When I had said that they were just rumors, I had meant that our feats were just not as they seem. We did not effortlessly take back our northern regions, but rather fought to tooth and nail in every battle that we had. We are by no means the heroes of legend that the citizens speak of. We are just warriors fighting for the freedom of our people." he said. "In my duel with that monster of a Gerudo, I would not have survived had it not been for him wishing to battle me once more in the future. I was left bloody and beaten, although I pride myself in being the first to ever scathe the man." he cleared his throat, obviously bothered by the topic of conversation. "All I am trying to say, your majesty, is that nothing was ever done easily. Many times would we have perished had it not been for dumb luck."

The king, now with renewed hope for salvation, replied, "Your feats may not seem impressive in your perspective. You may even call it dumb luck, but I say that it means that you are in favor of the Goddesses." The king straightened his back and said in the voice of a wise and humble leader, "Link, I am asking this of you and your comrades for I have no more troops to spare. As a king, no as a man, I am pleading that you would undertake a mission for the sake of Eloeinia. I know it may not be right of me to command you to do something you are not willing to do, so I will only ask. If you are willing, would you journey to the kingdom of Hyrule in my stead and plead for aid? The circumstances as they are now do not allow for me to journey myself, as the circumstances are currently dire for our small kingdom. I beg of you Link, this is the only hope left for our kingdom."

"Your majesty, the road to Hyrule is marked with dangerous terrain. It won't be simple for a large group of people to traverse those dangers easily. I only ask this of you. I will make the journey with three of my own as long as I have your trust that the rest of my comrades would be well taken care of for food and money is hard to come by. With the well being of my comrades guaranteed, I would be honored to journey to Hyrule for the sake of our Kingdom."

"Then let it be so." The king said, his composure now regained. "Your comrades will be well taken care of. May your journey be void of danger and may you have the blessings of the goddesses. Good luck, Link."

As the young man left the throne room the king called for his advisor and gave him instructions to provide for the warriors. As he walked towards the council room, he whispered a quiet prayer to the goddesses. 'Goddesses, bless us with your power and wisdom for times are dark. I suspect that the boy was sent by your will, and I give thanks.' A small tear ran down the old king's wrinkled face. 'I pray for forgiveness for I have not told the whole truth. I have knowingly sent the boy into the midst of the battle field for the battles have now raged on towards the fields of Hyrule. I can only hope that he is able to make a difference for Hyrule while they are being sieged by the Ikanians. Goddesses, bless Link with your courage for he will need it more than ever before. He is the light in this dark age and i trust that he will bring upon an era of peace after the war.'

Wiping the tear from his eye, the king entered the council room with renewed hope that the boy would be able to exceed his hopes and expectations and become the hero that Eloeinia needs.


	2. Chapter 2

**The One Who Stole the Sun**

_By Intemporel.J_

_Chapter 2_

"Link, you can't journey to Hyrule, that's insane. What the hell were you thinking when you agreed to the king?"

Link shifted in his seat, visibly annoyed, as he always was, by Linus' tone. The man was always the first to go against what he said, although this time he had a good point. Despite his constantly patronizing attitude, he was a good man with sound logic that was always in contrast to his own rash decisions. Not to mention, he was a genius with the sword and had been the difference maker in many battles.

"Linus, I have already discussed this with the others. Why can't you just agree with me like everyone else?" he exasperated. With a sigh he continued, "Look, while I'm gone Rusl is going to be put in charge. He may be old, but his wisdom is what we're going to need. Don't worry about me, Midna and Colin will be coming with me to Hyrule."

Silence filled the conference room.

"Link, we do not fight for the king nor the kingdom." he said, breaking the silence. "We fight for the people who cannot, we fight so that they might live in peace. We shouldn't be wasting our efforts on a wild goose chase. Do you know if they would even listen to the pleas of our people?"

Link adjusted his tunic uncomfortably. He did have the doubt that Hyrule may be indifferent to the plight of their people. However a promise had been made, and he was not one to break promises.

"I will take my chances with the crown of Hyrule. It's better than fighting this losing war."

With that he left the conference room and a conflicted Linus. Alone in the room, Linus whispered to himself.

"You do what you believe is right. As I will also."

As Linus left the conference room, unknowingly a piece of parchment fell out of his pocket and landed overturned on the dusty floor.

* * *

The ravaged northern border of Eloeinia was devoid of it's once thriving animal life. The multiple scorched patches of earth littered the beautiful landscape gray, in contrast to it's natural greenish tone. Three horses galloped down the now forsaken trading route, rays of sun beating down on them. Despite the disfigurations of the field, it was still quite beautiful.

The three travelers packed lightly, for time was not in their favor. The journey had to be quick before the Ikanians made their final push.

Link was accompanied by two of his most trusted allies, Midna and Colin.

Midna was a fierce valkyrie who had roots in the arcane art of magic. Her diminutive size was not one to be taken lightly for it was she who rained hail on the unsuspecting Ikanian soldiers during their retaking of Northern Eloeinia. Her impish attitude often got her into tight spots, but her skills in sorcery more than made up for her mistakes. Although she wasn't native to Eloeinia, her previous life had been destroyed by the growing Ikana empire and she vowed to avenge her fallen city. Her motivation and perseverance, not to also mention her anger at the Ikanians, showed itself in battle when she had rescued a small scouting squad from capture. Ever since then, she had been a vital member of the freedom fighters, irreplaceable for she was the most adept at magic.

Colin was the youngest of the freedom fighters, being three years younger than Link. His boyish face and short frame didn't boast his genius with the blade. He was a true prodigy. He had gained the respect of the freedom fighters when he was only ten years of age. In the midst of the siege of eastern Eloeinia, the newly orphaned child was seen holding his own against an Ikanian soldier in what can only be described as a sick gladiator match to play with the boy. Before he was almost struck down by the soldier, Rusl had rescued him from. Ever since then, he was taught the ways of the sword by the old man who treated him like the son he never had.

As dusk was about to settle its presence on the land, the trio caught the first glimpses of the large expanse of Hyrule Field, or rather what used to be Hyrule field. The once lush terrain was strewn with tents and carriages, all bearing the insignia of what they least expected. Link raised his hand and balled it into a fist, the signal for them to quiet down and stop their trek.

"Ikanians."

* * *

The wind began to pick up, causing swirls of leaves to float softly around the garden. The young princess uttered a sigh as she once again heard the raised voices from the nearby hall of council. It was inevitable really, the kingdom of Hyrule had ignored the ever growing number of atrocities of the Ikanians for far too long. It was only when the Ikanian troops had marched into Hyrule field that the council had begun considering war.

She was quickly pulled out her thoughts when she heard the slamming of the door, followed by an angry looking man.

"Father!" she yelled to get his attention. When he turned to see his daughter, the look of frustration was replaced by a gentle yet tired one. "I presume that the council meeting didn't go as planned?"

The king sighed and ran a hand through his gray head. "Half the council don't see the Ikanian army as a large enough threat to warrant any safety measures and the other half sees the need for a full scale retaliation. No one is even considering sending an envoy to diplomatically settle this."

Zelda lightly bit down on her lower lip as if in deep thought as her father continued his ranting to himself while walking down the hall of the garden. Lately her dreams and premonitions have been reoccurring again. She had predicted the coming of the Ikanian army but wasn't sure of to what extent.

She bent down and picked a daffodil from its stem. Breathing it in, she felt a pang of sadness ache her heart in a way she had never experienced before, not even in her mother's passing. Recollections of her recent dreams filled her mind as she clutched her tightening chest.

_'A yell. No, more of a roar. Loud and authoritative. Conflict. Two factions meet in Hyrule field. A blood bath. Despite the many deaths, the battle is evidently won. Premature celebration, an innopportune distraction. A rain of fire, the army looks up in fear. The man dressed in the aged Gerudo battle armor is responsible. Casualties, so many have fallen. The crown, bloodied and dented. Chaos fills the kingdom, the once golden land now forsaken by the goddesses. From nowhere, a light shines. A hero? No. The light is quickly consumed by the shadows of a flag. A flag, surprisingly not Ikanian, but Hyrulean. The light is extinguished, the Hyrulean flag hovering over it with pride. Soon enough, it is torn asunder, an inevitable fate.'_

She dropped the daffodil and stood up quickly, visibly shaken by her premonition. They haven't been wrong thus far, yet this was somehow different from the others. This vision was cloudy and filled with uncertainty while her previous ones were clear and beyond a doubt. Her doubts of her dream's accuracy curbed her instinct to mention it to her Father or the council. That would only cause more disarray. She slowly walked towards the library, all the while biting her lower lip.

The daffodil laid still on the dirt, now dead yet still vibrant.


End file.
